“Motown the Musical” Original Broadway Cast
Recording to Be Released June 4th
by Universal Music Enterprises

New Recordings of Motown Classics by the Stars of Broadway’s Hottest
New Arrival Album Includes Two New Songs Co-Written by Motown Founder
Berry Gordy

“MOTOWN THE MUSICAL” Nominated for four TONY® Awards

May 13, 2013 10:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The original Broadway cast recording of “MOTOWN
THE MUSICAL,” a show nominated for four TONY® Awards, is to
be released June 4, 2013, by Motown/Universal Music Enterprises (UMe).
Co-produced by multi-GRAMMY® Award winner Frank Filipetti and TONY®
Award nominee Ethan Popp, the album features a supremely talented cast
performing exciting new versions of Motown classics including “Dancing
In The Street,” “My Girl,” “You’re All I Need To Get By,” “Where Did Our
Love Go,” “I Want You Back,” and many more. Among the album’s 14 tracks
are two new songs, “Hey Joe (Black Like Me)” and the showstopper “Can I
Close The Door (On Love),” co-written by Berry Gordy, Motown Records’
founder as well as the writer and co-producer of the show. Included in
the album’s CD booklet are one-of-a-kind cast photos and two essays, by
Mr. Gordy and the director Charles Randolph-Wright.

With a sound that has become one of the most significant musical
accomplishments and stunning success stories of the 20th century, the
timeless music of Motown continues to be embraced by every generation.
Last month, “MOTOWN
THE MUSICAL” opened to great fanfare at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater,
with major media coverage, record-setting box office sales, and strong
word-of-mouth endorsements from early show-goers, making it Broadway’s
hottest new arrival.

“These performers are obviously not appearing at the Lunt-Fontanne
Theater, where Broadway’s latest jukebox musical opened Sunday night.
Instead, their indelible styles are being effectively recreated by a
blazing cast of gifted singers impersonating this crowded pantheon of
pop-chart immortals.” - The New York Times

“More than a Broadway show, a celebration of music that transformed
America!” - CBS Sunday Morning

“MOTOWN
THE MUSICAL” is the real story of the one-of-a-kind sound that hit
the airwaves in 1959 and changed our culture forever. This exhilarating
show charts Motown founder Berry Gordy's incredible journey from
featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the
careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson,
Marvin Gaye, and so many more. Featuring all the classics you love, “MOTOWN
THE MUSICAL” tells the story behind the hits as Diana, Smokey, Berry
and the whole Motown family fight against the odds to create the
soundtrack of change in America that shattered barriers, shaped our
lives, and made us all move to the same beat.

Motown, of course, stands for more than just its historic music. The
label and its remarkable legacy is a reflection of the hard work of
dedicated individuals overcoming incredible obstacles to achieve great
success. On January 12, 1959, a young African-American songwriter named
Berry Gordy founded Tamla Records with a loan of $800 from his family,
marking the birth of the “Motown Records Corporation.” A man of vision,
drive, talent and determination, Gordy was also a producer, innovative
entrepreneur, and teacher. Motown’s phenomenal success is a tribute to
all that Gordy embodies and all of the artists he discovered and
nurtured to stardom. Under his leadership, and through determination and
support of the Motown family of creative artists, Gordy forged new
ground for minorities and made the “Motown Sound” a worldwide phenomenon
beloved by millions and the Motown brand a true global cultural icon.

Directed by Charles Randolph Wright, with a book by Berry Gordy, “MOTOWN
THE MUSICAL” features choreography by Patricia Wilcox (Blues in
the Night) and Warren Adams (Toy Story The Musical), scenic
design by David Korins (Bring It On: The Musical, Annie),
costume design by TONY® Award nominee ESosa (The Gershwins’ Porgy and
Bess, “Project Runway”), lighting design by TONY® Award winner
Natasha Katz (Once, Sister Act), sound design by TONY®
Award nominee Peter Hylenski (Rock of Ages, The Scottsboro Boys),
and projection design by Daniel Brodie (Jekyll and Hyde).

“MOTOWN
THE MUSICAL” features arrangements and orchestrations by Ethan Popp (Rock
of Ages), who supervises the show’s 18-piece orchestra to reproduce
the classic “Sound of Young America” for the Broadway stage, with
co-orchestrations and additional arrangements by Bryan Crook (Smash),
dance arrangements by Zane Mark (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), and
music direction by Joseph Joubert (Nice Work If You Can Get It).